DEI Isn’t Dead: New Research Finds Most Companies Still Back Workplace Inclusion

While companies may be changing the language surrounding DEI, the demand for fair and inclusive workplaces remains firmly in place.

Despite the Trump administration’s crackdown on corporate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, a new report suggests that workplace inclusion efforts are far from disappearing.

According to a study released in May by Catalyst and New York University School of Law’s Meltzer Center for Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging, 80% of U.S. organizations remain committed to workplace inclusion despite growing legal and political pressure surrounding DEI initiatives. The report, titled “A New Path to Inclusion: How to Overcome Legal and Cultural Constraints on Building Fair Workplaces,” surveyed more than 2,000 employees and leaders and found that many companies still value and implement DEI.

The findings arrive as many corporations face increased scrutiny following President Donald Trump’s executive actions targeting DEI programs and the continued fallout from the Supreme Court’s 2023 affirmative action ruling in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard.

“Despite a high-risk legal environment, our research shows that DEI is not dying—it is evolving,” said Joy Ohm, vice president at Catalyst, in a press release. “We see a majority of organizations adjusting their strategies, so this is a story of adaptation, not a broad rollback.”

The report found that 77% of organizations have altered their DEI investments over the past three years. However, those changes have not been uniform. Among federal contractors, who are subject to heightened government oversight, 51% reported reducing their inclusion efforts, while only 32% increased them. In contrast, 52% of organizations that are not federal contractors reported increasing their inclusion efforts, compared with just 20% that reported decreases.

“Even in the face of a concerted assault on the values of inclusion and fairness, many organizations remain deeply committed to this work,” Ohm added.

David Glasgow, the executive director of the Meltzer Center, said the data illustrates how companies are adapting based on their legal exposure rather than abandoning inclusion altogether.

“It’s been extremely challenging for organizations of all kinds to navigate the legal environment for DEI work over the past few years,” Glasgow said. “Yet we are seeing companies adopt nuanced approaches to inclusion based on their specific risk exposure.”

The report also suggests that many companies are rebranding or reframing DEI efforts around broader concepts such as workplace fairness, belonging, and opportunity while continuing to pursue inclusion goals internally. Researchers argue that the shift reflects a changing landscape rather than the end of corporate diversity efforts.

While companies may be changing the language surrounding DEI, the demand for fair and inclusive workplaces remains firmly in place.

“What organizations say publicly about their inclusion initiatives doesn’t always tell the full story,” said Christina Thomas, who serves as project director at the Meltzer Center.

“Organizations are responding to real legal and political pressure by changing their language and public posture. But the internal work is harder to undo,” Thomas added. “It’s embedded in people, processes, and culture in ways that don’t shift as quickly as a public statement. These findings indicate that the reality inside organizations is more complicated than the headlines suggest, and that matters for understanding where DEI actually stands.”